Here we go, everyone. It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting 12 long months for. The BSB Conf Tourney Challenge gets underway tonight. I just got all the picks in for the three tourneys that start tonight, so let’s get it going.
We have the same 8 contestants from last year (Bry, Doogan, Ina, J, Stri, Alexi, Waters, and Lynch), plus 4 new ones (Lohse, Lil Lohse, KA, and Teddy).
Every day during the Challenge I will try to update the night before’s action, including the ramifications on The Challenge and preview that night’s action and the potential swings in The Challenge that each game could provide, so check back periodically. (Both the previews and recaps will be somewhat sorted according to Challenge ramifications.) So, without further ado, let’s get to tonight’s action.
BIG SOUTH QUARTERFINALS
The Big South tournament gets underway tonight with four quarterfinal games on the home courts of the top seeds. Coastal Carolina is the #1 seed and if they can win this tourney, they should be a tough out in Doogan’s “Nickname Pool,” because Chanticleers is a pretty amazing nickname.
#6 Liberty (10-8) at #3 Winthrop (12-6). The Golden Eagles of Winthrop open their Big South tourney at home against Liberty. J and Lynch went out on a limb and took the road team, Liberty, for the upset. KA, Lil Lohse, and Alexi all have Winthrop winning this whole tourney.
#8 VMI (5-13) at #1 Coastal Carolina (15-3). The top-seeded Chanticleers (and best defensive team in the conference) take on a VMI team that plays faster than a Mike D’Antoni team (averaging over 90 points per game, but close to 100 points given up per game). Waters is the only one that is drawn to that style enough to pick VMI in this game. If they come through, that is a huge upset pick. Everyone else has C. Carolina. More than half of the contestants (7 out of 12) have C. Carolina winning this whole tourney, so those that don’t wouldn’t necessarily mind a big upset on day one.
#7 Charleston-Southern (7-11) at #2 Radford (13-5). Radford, the defending conference champs open this year’s tourney at home as the #2-seed. They play Charleston-Southern tonight. 11 of the 12 contestants have Radford winning this game at home, as only Stri went out on a limb and took Charleston-Southern. This is a big game for Ina, as she is the only one with Radford repeating as Big South champs.
#5 High Point (10-8) at #4 UNC-Asheville (11-7). UNC-Asheville and their 8-foot giant center, Kenny George (I think he’s still there, isn’t he?) open at home against High Point. J and Lynch took the minor upset of High Point in this one. Waters has a lot at stake here, as he has UNC-Asheville winning the Big South.
OHIO VALLEY QUARTERFINALS:
The Murray St. conference gets going tonight, as the Racers dominated the regular season, and we will see if they can finish it off and get the auto bid. There is even some talk that they may be in the running for an at-large, but I would highly recommend that they don’t leave it up to the Committee to select them out of a conference such as the OVC. The opening round games are all on the campuses of the higher seeds, and then the final two rounds move to Nashville.
#8 Tennessee St. (6-12) at #1 Murray St. (17-1). The Racers open with the 8-seed Tennessee St. KA was the only one brave enough to take Tennessee St. in what would be a huge upset. In fact, only 3 contestants (KA, Lohse, and Stri) do NOT have Murray St. winning this tournament.
#7 Jacksonville St. (7-11) at #2 Morehead St. (15-3). If someone is going to take out Murray St., it will probably be Morehead, who had a really nice year. They open, at home, against Jacksonville St. KA’s bravery is joined by Lil Lohse, as they both have JSU in this big upset. Lohse and Stri both have Morehead winning this tournament.
#6 Tennessee Tech (8-10) at #3 Austin Peay (11-7). The Governors open their postseason at home tonight against Tennessee Tech. J, Lynch, and Lohse all have Tennessee Tech in this upset. KA is the only one who picked the Governors to win the whole thing.
#5 E. Kentucky (11-7) at #4 E. Illinois (11-7). A nice matchup in the 4-5 slots here as E. Illinois hosts E. Kentucky. Surprisingly, only Lohse and Teddy picked the home team here. Everyone else has the minor upset of E. Kentucky. But, after this game, everyone except KA (who has E. Kentucky in the final) has Murray St. winning the semifinal, so no one else is in jeopardy of losing a finalist here.
HORIZON LEAGUE OPENING ROUND:
The Horizon League, with the smartest conference tournament format of any mid-major gives the top two teams double-byes, and gives the regular season champ the home court advantage througout. But, the bottom 8 teams open on campus sites in the opening round.
#7 Detroit (9-9) at #6 Valparaiso (10-8). One of the darlings of our NCAA tournament memories is Valpo and Bryce Drew. They open their postseason tonight at home against a red-hot Detroit team. This game actually has a LOT of Challenge implications. Teddy, KA, Lohse, Alexi, Doogan, Ina, and Bry all have Detroit in the upset. Lohse actually has them going all the way to the finals. On the other hand, both Stri and Waters both have Valpo going all the way to the finals, so this is big already in the course of the Horizon League.
#8 Loyola (IL) (5-13) at #5 Cleveland St. (10-8). Gary Waters’ Cleveland St. Vikings open their postseason at home against Loyola (IL). Everyone has Cleveland St. in this game except KA. Lynch is the only one with the Vikings winning the whole thing.
#10 Youngstown St. (2-16) at #3 Green Bay (11-7). Green Bay just missed the double-bye, so now they have to win 4 games to get to The Dance. They open with a bad YSU team tonight at home. Stri, Waters, and Lil Lohse actually took the chance to pick up monster upset points with YSU tonight. KA’s interest in this game is peaked, as well, because she has Green Bay going all the way in the Horizon League.
#9 Illinois-Chicago (3-15) at #4 Milwaukee (10-8). The Flames of UIC go into Milwaukee tonight. Bry is the only one that has the Flames in this upset. KA has Milwaukee going the furthest, as she has them reaching the finals.
